New fad diet labelled ‘toxic’ by dietitian, fitness influencer

A brand new fad diet has taken over social media — but experts have quickly slammed it.

A new fad diet that has people drinking rice starch water has taken over social media – but experts have quickly slammed it as “restrictive”.

Laura Henshaw, who owns health and wellness business Kic alongside Steph Claire Smith, has previously been vocal about how her time as a model impacted her severely when it came to food and exercise.

Now the star, 31, has used her voice to slam the new diet, which sees people soak rice in hot water and add lime juice before drinking the leftover liquid first thing in the morning.

The drink is meant to suppress the drinker’s appetite, with Henshaw saying it made her “angry” and “sad” that people were doing this.

“With the rise of toxic diet trends on social media, I wanted to share a reminder of some of the diet culture red flags you can look out for to cut through the sh*t,” she said.

She said people following a new diet need to ask themselves if it was being promoted by a professional, whether they are actually enjoying what you’re doing, and whether you see yourself implementing it in the long term and are you cutting out entire food groups.

“If the diet includes any of these red flags – it is very likely it is a toxic diet trend and is not in anyway healthy for you to implement for your physical or mental health. Take care of your body, it is your home,” she said.

Laura Henshaw has slammed rice drink diet trend. Picture: Instagram

Liv Morrison, who is Kic’s dietitian, said the ingredients themselves aren’t problematic and do have health benefits – such as hydration, vitamin C and resistant starch, which is a prebiotic fibre.

However, that doesn’t mean that Ms Morrison doesn’t have concerns about the diet.

“It’s really easy for people to take it a step too far,” Ms Morrison said.

“The general guidelines that people are promoting online is to replace one meal a day or your breakfast, some are also promoting intermittent fasting thereafter consuming this.

Henshaw has spoken out about fad diets before. Picture: Instagram

“It is also not an actual meal replacement. It has not got a balance of nutrients, micro and macro. It’s essentially carbohydrate water; no protein, dietary fats, or essential nutrients that we need for daily functioning.”

She said one person claimed the challenge allowed them to lose 27kg in just two months, meaning they lost approximately 3kg a week.

“Generally for a sustainable weight loss, we recommend half a kilo per week,” Ms Morrison said.

The trend involves putting rice is hot water and drinking the liquid, along with lime juice. Picture: TikTok

“Where the real danger lies, is when people are thinking ‘if I can lose that amount of weight by replacing one meal a day, why don’t I just take it the next step and replace multiple meals or snacks a day with this drink so I will get faster results’.

“That’s not a healthy approach, but that is where my concern kind of comes in. Faster is not better.”

Ms Morrison said there is a clear correlation between social media and eating disorders, and things such the rice challenge being promoted on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok means it is targeting people in their late teens and early 20s.

Liv Morrison is a dietitian. Picture: Supplied

“Another concerning thing with a lot of these social media fad diet trends is that they are now using everyday foods that are readily accessible in the house, which makes it really difficult for someone that’s like trying to take care of a loved one to recognise unhealthy and disordered eating behaviours,” she said, pointing to trends such as the celery juice drink.

Ms Morrison said it can also create a real blind spot for parents as well, echoing Ms Henshaw’s concerns about looking for red flags when it comes to fad diets.

Originally published as New fad diet labelled ‘toxic’ by dietitian, fitness influencer